Fans of indoor track and field will notice new events on the championship schedule this year. For the first time at the Division II level, a national champion will be crowned this weekend in the women’s indoor pentathlon and the men’s indoor heptathlon. Events will begin Friday morning in the UH Athletics/Alumni Center, and the finals will be Saturday afternoon.

“We have so many multi-talented student-athletes who don’t often get a chance to showcase their talents on the national level,” said Sylvia Barnier, chair of the Division II Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee. “In Division II we are all about providing opportunities. Maybe they are not outstanding in a single event but they are exceptional overall athletes and this provides an opportunity for those kids to be involved in the indoor championship.”

The women’s pentathlon consists of five events: 60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800 meters. The men’s heptathlon is composed of seven events: 60-meter dash, long  jump, shot put, high jump, 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters.

“We’ve tried to make the sport more spectator-friendly, and these events will tighten up the schedule and hopefully keep fans entertained throughout the competition,” Barnier said.

Long seen on the outdoor championship schedule, multi-events have never appeared at the Division II indoor national championship.

“All of the events are at the same place at an indoor meet, so it makes the multi-events easier to follow for the fans,” said Kip Janvrin, co-head coach at Central Missouri.

A decathlete in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Janvrin will coach two student-athletes in the women’s pentathlon and two in the men’s heptathlon this weekend.

“(The new events) went over very favorably,” Janvrin said. “There are a lot of well-rounded athletes who specialize in the multi-events who don’t have a chance to compete on a national level. These events create more equity in that way. To me it’s making the meet more special.”

The last time new events were added to the Division II indoor championships was in 2005 when the 200-meter dash and the distance medley relay came along. Russ Jewett, head coach at Pittsburg State, was chair of the track and field committee in 2005 when those events were added.

“We felt that the membership had increased across Division II track and field and that we deserved more student-athlete participation in the championship,” Jewett said. “We wanted to add events that made the championship more meaningful and exciting.”

The distance medley relay, in which four runners complete legs of varying distances (1,200, 400, 800 and 1,600 meters), has since become a fan favorite. “Track meets aren’t track meets without relays,” Barnier said. “You wouldn’t believe how fast they come around that track. It’s a great race for distance runners.”

Jewett added that the relay races make the meet feel like a true team championship. “It’s the best example of the teamwork that you see in other sports that applies to our sport,” he said, adding that he has been impressed with the level of competition in the distance medley relay and the 200-meter dash since their inception.

The events have also become important to winning national championships. When the Adams State women’s team claimed its title last year, the Grizzlies did so with a first-place finish in the distance medley relay and third- and fourth-place finishes in the 200-meter dash.

“It’s an indicator of the health of the sport if you track the strength of an event performance-wise from year to year,” Jewett said. “These events are strong and getting stronger. There’s nothing watered down about these events.”

When the new events were added in 2005, the total number of participants in the championship also increased from 154 to 200. This year’s new events did not bring with them an added number of participants, but Barnier says some of the participants in the pentathlon and heptathlon had already qualified in other events.

“Increasing participation numbers was not an option at this time, but we felt that adding these events was a different way to provide opportunities. We’re viewing this as an exciting opportunity to improve the championship,” she said.

Janvrin expects the new events will be an exciting addition for seasoned fans of track and field, as well as fans attending the other championships at the Festival who may be getting their first taste of the sport.

“Anybody who has the opportunity to come over and see the events is going to be pleasantly surprised with the quality of the track and field performances they’re going to see,” Janvrin said.